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Link Wray
| birth_place = Dunn, North Carolina, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Copenhagen, Denmark | genre = | occupation = | instrument = | years_active = 1956–2005 | label = | associated_acts = Robert Gordon | website = | notable_instruments = 1957 Supro Dual Tone 1953 Gibson Les Paul Early 60s Gibson SG }} Fred Lincoln 'Link' Wray, Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005), was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble" by Link Wray and his Ray Men popularized "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists",Cub Koda & Steve Leggett (2008). class=artist|id=p5875/biography|pure_url=yes}} "Link Wray" Biography, AllMusic.com; accessed March 17, 2015. facilitating the emergence of "punk and heavy rock".Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches, p. 559; ISBN 1-55652-754-3. Rolling Stone placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 he was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."Nirvana, Kiss, Hall and Oates Nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" . Rolling Stone. October 16, 2013; retrieved October 16, 2013. Though he began in country music, his musical style went on to consist primarily of rock and roll, rockabilly, and instrumental rock. Early life Wray was born on May 2, 1929 in Dunn, North Carolina, to Fred Lincoln Wray, Sr. and his wife, Lillian M. Wray (née Coats).Deborah Wray: daughter-in-law They were Shawnee Native Americans. Three songs he performed were named for American Indian tribes: "Shawnee", "Apache", and "Comanche". "Apache" was an instrumental composed by Jerry Lordan; it was originally a hit in the United Kingdom for The Shadows in 1960. Wray recorded a cover version 30 years later, when it was also associated with The Ventures and the Incredible Bongo Band. Wray served in the US Army during the Korean War, and contracted tuberculosis, which laid him up in a hospital for a year. His stay concluded with the removal of a lung, which doctors predicted would mean he would never be able to sing again. Career Wray's first hit, "Rumble", was banned in New York and Boston for fear it would incite teenage gang violence. The record was first released on Cadence Records as Cat # 1347 (as Link Wray and the Ray-Men). Before, during and after his stints with major labels Epic and Swan, Wray released 45's under many names. Tiring of the corporate music machine, he began recording albums using a three-track studio he converted from an outbuilding on his brother's property that his father used to raise chickens. While living in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s, Wray was introduced to Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina by bassist James Hutchinson. He subsequently formed a band initially featuring special guest Cipollina along with the rhythm section from Cipollina's band Copperhead, bassist Hutch Hutchinson, and drummer David Weber. They opened for the band Lighthouse at The Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles from May 15–19, 1974.http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Whiskey-a-Go-Go%201971-1975.htm He later did numerous concerts and radio broadcasts in the Bay Area including KSAN (FM) and the Bill Graham venue Winterland Ballroom, with Les Lizama later replacing Hutchinson on bass. He toured and recorded two albums with retro-rockabilly artist Robert Gordon in the late 1970s.Prown, Pete & Newquist, HP (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists, p. 25. Hal Leonard Corporation. The 1980s to the present day saw a large number of reissues as well as new material. One member of his band in the 1980s, drummer Anton Fig, later became drummer in the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman. In 1994, he played on four songs of the album Chatterton by French rocker Alain Bashung. Personal life Wray's first three marriages—to Elizabeth Canady Wray, Katherine Tidwell Wray, and Sharon Wray—each ended in divorce. Although Wray had eight children with his first three wives, he had little contact with any of them after relocating to Denmark in the early 1980s. He died of heart failure, aged 76, in 2005, at his home in Copenhagen. Survivors included his fourth wife, Olive Julie Povlsen Wray, and their son. He was buried in the crypt of the Christian's Church, Copenhagen. Legacy Jack Rose cited Wray as an influence, as did Iggy Pop and Neil Young. Jimmy Page says that Link Wray had a "real rebel attitude" and credits him in It Might Get Loud as a major influence in his early career. According to Rolling Stone, Pete Townshend of The Who once said, "If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I never would have picked up a guitar." "The only people I ever really looked up to were Link Wray and Iggy Pop," said Mark E. Smith of The Fall. " Guys like ... Link Wray ... are very special to me."https://books.google.ie/books/about/Renegade.html?id=5K-mAAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y On October 16, 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Link Wray was a nominee for inclusion in 2014. Discography Singles Wray was a featured collaborator on Robert Gordon's 1977 single "Red Hot" (Private Stock Records, PS 45,156). The single peaked at no. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Note that, despite the correct credit on the record itself, the Billboard chart credited Wray as "Link Ray". Albums Compilation albums With Robert Gordon See also *Surf music References External links *LinkWray.com *Link Wray's entry at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame *Link Wray's Place *Punk Rock Articles: Masculine Studs into Guitars, Link Wray – Photo Gallery *Perfect Sound Forever: Be Wild, Not Evil: The Link Wray Story *Mr. Guitar's City After Dark: Link Wray Obituary *Induct Link Wray * Vernon Wray – features some unreleased Link photos * Be Wild Not Evil: The Link Wray Story Category:1929 births Category:2005 deaths Category:American expatriates in Denmark Category:American rock guitarists Category:American male guitarists Category:Norton Records artists Category:Apex Records artists Category:Okeh Records artists Category:American military personnel of the Korean War Category:People from Dunn, North Carolina Category:Protopunk musicians Category:Cadence Records artists Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Swan Records artists Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:20th-century American guitarists